Past Conquests
by ifonly13
Summary: A night out on the town leads to an unexpected brush with her past.


_A/N: This one comes from yet another fantastic prompt from thejetsetgirl on tumblr. Keep the prompts coming, chica!_

_**Disclaimer: I own two characters in here (you'll be able to tell which two).**  
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><p>She had been ready for almost thirty minutes, pacing the living room and fighting the urge to jam her gun into his back and march him out the door. She had even gotten back to the apartment later than he had, having hung back to finish up the paperwork for the weekend so they could spend it together instead of at the precinct. Somehow, Kate had managed to shower, dry her hair, put on makeup, and get into her dress in the time it took him to button up his shirt and pick out a tie.<p>

"Seriously, Castle. You have two minutes and then I'm leaving by myself," she called back toward the study. "The rest of the world doesn't wait on you, best-seller or otherwise."

When he finally rounded the corner, she sighed. "All that time and you stick with a red tie? Really?"

"Had to match you. Now are you going to complain or get us out the door?" he asked, placing a kiss on her cheek as he walked past her toward the door.

Kate grabbed up her clutch and trailed him on the short trip to the elevator. They waved to Eduardo as he held the door open for them, then Kate stopped short.

"A limo."

Castle tugged her forward as the driver opened the back door for them. "Come on. We're going to the opening night of The Nutcracker. It's a big deal, Kate. Limos are sort of standard fare for this type of event."

She still dug her heels in as he gestured for her to slide in before him. "This is the last time I give in, Castle. No more limos." It was the fourth time she had said that and each time, she still got into the back of the car. Castle wasn't concerned that she'd ever follow through with her threat.

Traffic was snarled on the ride from SoHo up Broadway to Lincoln Center. Kate had slipped her heels off, stretching her feet out in the open space. She was tired and took the extended ride as a chance to sneak a nap before having to be social. Castle was rubbing her knee, keeping the holiday music low as he hummed along. She didn't even notice when the car came to a stop. Castle figured the day must have been tough; she normally started awake when the motion of the vehicle ceased.

"Kate." He braced his hands on either side of her head, kissing her gently and having the chance to watch her eyes flutter open. "Time to face society." He felt her lips turn up into a smile as she gave him a little shove back.

"Then give me some room to get my shoes back on."

He couldn't stop his gaze from travelling to the hint of cleavage revealed by the v-neck of her black dress.

"Castle. Eyes." She tugged the red wrap around her shoulders as she took the driver's offered hand to get out of the car.

Lincoln Center was aglow. Hordes of people gathered around the fountain, talking to paparazzi or each other. Kate's instinct was to avoid these groups, to head straight into the building that played host to the New York City Ballet. Castle, of course, wanted to mingle. She made him compromise by chatting with people inside the building, in the warmth, instead of freezing in the courtyard.

They had just picked up glasses of champagne and found an empty space to stand in when someone called out.

"Katherine?"

She turned, looking for the source of her name. When she still couldn't find the person, they said her name again. This time, a hand accompanied her name, placing itself softly on her shoulder.

"Do you not remember me, Katherine?" the tall man asked, a crooked smile gracing his lips. He had carefully styled blonde hair that swept over a strong forehead. Bright green eyes were watching her, urging her to figure out the mystery of the man.

Kate's brow furrowed, searching her memories. Then she grinned. "Michel?" She shook Castle's hand off her elbow in order to throw her arms around the other man. "It's been forever! How long have you been back in the States?"

"A few days." Michel stepped back, nodding toward Castle. "Introductions, Katherine?"

"Of course. Castle, this is Michel Dupuis. Michel, Richard Castle."

The men shook hands though Castle was continuously eyeing Michel as if he was an intruder on his turf. Kate gave him a hip-check with an accompanying smile up at him. "Michel was an exchange student when I was a sophomore in college. We dated for a while until 'family business' called him back to France. Which you never did explain, Michel," Kate trailed off with a teasing grin.

"I can explain now. Katherine and Richard, this is my wife, Vivienne." The woman he took the hand of was Kate's height, long dark blonde hair falling down to brush her shoulders. "Vivienne, this is my very dear friend Katherine and her friend Richard."

"It is a pleasure to meet some of Michel's friends," Vivienne said, her French accent heavier than Michel's. Her hand was soft as she shook both of theirs, her eyes focused back on Michel's face as soon as the introductions were exchanged. Michel noticed that Kate's did the same thing with the man at her side, edging closer in the presence of another man.

The lights in the lobby flickered a few times, indicating that the performance was about to start, and Castle looped his arm through Kate's, a not-so-subtle gesture of possession. Michel was mirroring the movement with Vivienne so Castle felt less guilty about it.

Kate still reached out to brush a hand over Michel's arm. "I'll call you. Maybe we can get coffee if you're going to be in the city for a while?"

"So sorry, Katherine. We're flying out right after tonight's performance. Vi vand I left the kids with the nanny and we do hate to take away her free time." They were walking together toward the entrance to the hall. "But we really must catch up. It has been far too long."

They parted ways, seated on opposite sides of the performance hall. As soon as they were out of sight, Castle spun Kate up against the wall and pressed a fierce kiss to her lips.

"What're you doing, Castle?" she asked breathlessly once he pulled away. "Marking your territory?"

"I don't like seeing you with ex-boyfriends, however long ago the relationship ended."

Kate gave him a tug toward their seats. "Trust me. Michel doesn't stand a chance against you. Plus he looks happy with Vivienne and they have kids. I don't feel like tearing apart one of the most powerful families in France."

"Seriously?" he asked as they sat. "That's the maybe-royalty-French-boyfriend?"

"Yeah. He's a marquis." She raised a brow. "Who told you about that?"

He fought to keep his face innocent. "No one." Kate's little glare told him without a single word that he failed on the poker face front. "Madison may have let some of your past conquests slip during our dinner before you interrupted us."

"Figures. She was never the best with secrets," Kate mused, flipping through the playbill. "Well, I can safely tell you that the man I'm with now is better than the guitarist, the pre-med student, and the French marquis all rolled into one."

"This current man sounds pretty nice."

She leaned over the armrest and kissed his cheek. "He certainly has his moments. Now shush. You need to listen to the overture so you can recognize the melodies later on."

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><p><em>AN: This came to me while looking for a drabble to amuse me while waiting for Advent to update and something to relax from the stress of my first final. I was able to combine thejetsetgirl's prompt of something to do with Kate's possibly-royal boyfriend mentioned by Madison in "Food to Die For" and the theme of the Cupcake Wars episode I was watching: The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center._

_Let me know what you think! Make my studying for French a little more bearable._


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